Elles Smallegoor loves to immerse herself into the diverse fields of academia, agriculture and the arts. A part-time creative, she mainly focuses on oil painting and is versatile in style. Some works are impressionistic, loosely painted in quick strokes. Others are more controlled and symbolic or narrative in character, such as the two paintings in this exhibition. “At the Gates of the Green Man” and “A Day by the River” complement each other and aim to tell a story in light of the exhibition’s theme Green-Gold and Vibrant. The first is is darker in approach: our green and valuable planet is facing many challenges and the younger generation, represented here by the figure of Greta Thunberg, stands in front of the entrance of the world of the Green Man, a symbol of fertility and renewal. What will happen next? The second painting is supposed to convey pure lightness of being. Humans simply enjoying a green, golden and vibrant day, soaking up everything that nature has to offer for free: water, sunshine and the company of others.